GrowNYC presents New Green City
Wednesday, September 29, 10am-6pm
Union Square Park, South Plaza
E. 14th St. – E.17th St b/t Broadway & 4th Ave
Following the success of 2009's Green Brooklyn...Green City, GrowNYC is bringing the festivities to Union Square. This year's event will feature interactive exhibits, DIY tutorials and multi-media art exhibits. Also happening will be a special one-day textiles collection (weekly collections are at the Union Square Greenmarket Saturdays and Mondays ONLY) and the usual compost collection hosted by the LES Ecology Center, a feature of every market day at Union Square.

Poster Series
This month remind building residents to recycle their glass bottles and jars. Simply print this snappy poster and display in recycling areas, elevators, above mailboxes, etc.

Recycle at School!
GrowNYC’s Public Schools Recycling Champions program will be expanding to schools in all five boroughs this fall to implement model recycling programs; follow their progress here. NYC school custodian engineers will start off the year freshly motivated from a recycling training conducted in August by GrowNYC and the Department of Sanitation. We’ll be working throughout the year with the entire school community, from students and parents to faculty and administrators, to ensure that our schools provide a model for environmental citizenship. Please visit the School Resources page to find out how you can do your part to help your school go above and beyond the average recycling plan.

Mayor and City Council Update NYC Recycling Laws
On August 16 Mayor Bloomberg signed a series of new laws to update and expand recycling. The law of most interest to our readers is likely the expansion of plastic recycling to include all rigid containers like yogurt cups and take out containers. But don’t go piling up your plastics just yet! This change won’t go into effect until a new recycling facility is built in Brooklyn, scheduled to open in 2012.

Other laws include the addition of 700 more public space recycling bins over the next 10 years, household hazardous waste collections for residents, expanded clothing and textile recycling, improved recycling at city schools and agencies and more leaf and yard waste composting.

Buildings with 9 or more units will also see increased fines for improper recycling at the end of this year, so contact OROE to get your building’s recycling program up to speed.

Please note that not all laws will be implemented immediately. Stay tuned to our e-newsletter for updates.

Uptown Compost Workshop: Worm Composting 101
Sunday, September 12, 1pm-3pm
La Perla Community Garden, W105th St b/t Columbus & Manhattan
Join the NYC Compost Project in Manhattan to learn how red wiggler worms can turn food scraps into a special fertilizer for plants. Worm bin set-up, maintenance, and troubleshooting will be covered. “Worm condo” and worms can be purchased for the discounted price of $44. Attendance fee is $5 cash payable at workshop. To register, please contact the NYC Compost Project in Manhattan hosted at the Lower East Side Ecology Center at 212-477-3155 or info@lesecologycenter.org.

Electronics Recycling in all 5 Boroughs this Fall
The Lower East Side Ecology Center is hosting 9 electronics collections throughout the five boroughs this fall. NYC residents (no businesses) can responsibly recycle unwanted or broken electronics. No appliances such as microwaves or refrigerators. Find a list of acceptable materials here. See event dates and neighborhood info below and visit www.LESEcologyCenter.org for more details.

STATEN ISLAND
Staten Island Mall - Saturday, September 18, 10am-4pm
2655 Richmond Avenue, Lot F

MANHATTAN
Morningside Park: Sunday, September 19, 10am-4pm
Morningside Ave b/t 113th & 114th Sts

Upper East Side: Tuesday, September 28, 11am-7pm
Church of the Heavenly Rest, 5th Ave & East 90th St

Lower East Side: Sunday, October 3, 10am-4pm
Delancey Street b/t Chrystie and Forsyth

Tekserve: Saturday, October 9, 10am-4pm
119 W 23rd St b/t 6th & 7th Aves

QUEENS
Glendale - Sunday, September 19, 10am-3pm
Marshal Lot at Atlas Terminals, 81-76 Cooper Ave
(note: sponsored by State Senator Addabbo. Call 718-738-1111 for more info)

Jackson Heights - Saturday, September 25, 10am-4pm
Travers Park, 78th St b/t Northern Blvd & 34th Ave

BRONX
Van Cortlandt Park - Sunday, September 26, 10am-4pm
Broadway b/t Manhattan College Pkwy and Post Rd

BROOKLYN
Brooklyn Bridge Park - Saturday, October 2, 10am-4pm
Pier 1, Furman Street b/t Old Fulton & Doughty St

Carroll Gardens - Saturday, October 2, 10am-4pm
Bond Street b/t 3rd & 4th Sts

Textiles Recycling at the Stuyvesant Town Greenmarket
Sunday, September 12, 10am-3pm
Stuyvesant Town 14th St loop (at Avenue A)
Wearable Collections will be collecting unwanted clothing & textiles at this special one-day event. Please note this event runs shorter than the actual Greenmarket.

Textiles Recycling in Times Square
Wednesday, September 15, 11am-1pm
46th Street and Broadway (behind the TKTS booth)
The Broadway Green Alliance will be collecting gently used clothing and costumes from shows and fans. All materials are being donated to Wearable Collections, which will find ways to reuse or recycle 97% of items collected and prevent them from going into a landfill.

Prescription & OTC Drug Take Back
Saturday, September 25, 10am-2pm
Various Sites in All Boroughs
Safely dispose of prescription and over-the-counter solid dosage medications (i.e. tablets and capsules). Not accepted: Intra-venous solutions, injectables, needles and illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine. To find the site closest to you go to http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/. (Note: website will be updated as collection sites are confirmed, so check back before heading out on 9/25.) Questions? Call 212-337-2906.

Recycling Day Changes in Parts of the Bronx
Noticed your recycling going out on a different day lately? Recycling collection days have changed in some Bronx neighborhoods, including Melrose, Mott Haven and Morris Heights. Get more information from the Department of Sanitation’s website or call 311.

Find us in your neighborhood!
OROE will have tables set up at the following events. Stop by and get answers to your recycling questions!

-BED-STUY: Saturday, September 11, 12pm-4pm – Brooklyn Clothing Exchange Fall Clothing Swap, Macon Library, 361 Lewis Avenue

-FORT GREENE: Sunday, September 12,19, 26 from 12pm-3pm – "Move About Myrtle", Myrtle Ave (exact location tbd)

-ROCKAWAYS: Saturday, September 25, 10am - 4pm - Arverne Health Fair, St. John Baptist Church, 74-05 Rockaway Beach Blvd.

-WASH. HEIGHTS/INWOOD: Saturday, September 25, 12pm-5pm - NMIC 30th Anniversary Block Party, Wadsworth b/t 176th & 177th

-WASH. HEIGHTS/INWOOD: Sunday, September 26, 9am-3pm - Centro Altagracia de Fe y Justicia Health Fair, 175th St bet St. Nick & Audubon

GrowNYC's OFFICE OF RECYCLING OUTREACH & EDUCATION (OROE) works to improve the City's recycling rate by educating residents about recycling and waste prevention, and working with landlords to make sure building recycling programs are adequate. Our free services include apartment building recycling audits, trainings for tenants and supers, community events centered on education and special collection programs for textiles, electronics, and compost. OROE's current intensive efforts target one-quarter of New York City's residents. Our five borough-wide coordinators work on a community-by-community basis to identify and address the specific challenges to recycling within a Community District. For more information visit www.grownyc.org or call 212-788-7964.